Illegal Lives
by SinFire99
Summary: AU. The Titans are all normal humans, living out dark lives. Robin and Cyborg are thugs working for Bruce Wayne, Beast Boy is a rat, Starfire is a polite hooker, and Raven is a moody alcoholic. This is them in a life of crime. R&R.
1. Acquire The Goods

_I'm back, and I know that's a shocker. It's hard to believe that it's really been over two months since I've updated. Ever since I got on this site, the max has been three weeks, usually less, in between updates. But hey, don't blame me. I went through a break up, two and a half months ago, and it kind of hurt me. I went through another breakup recently as well, but things are looking up. Anyways, now you'll be getting lots of writing out of me, and I'll be starting with this AU fic. The Titans are all human, and things are definitely switched around a lot. To explain:_

_Bruce Wayne: Crime lord, rich as can be. Age 43.  
Slade Wilson: Bruce Wayne's partner, criminal genius. Age 37.  
Richard/Dick Grayson: Bruce Wayne's most trusted thug. Age 21.  
Victor Stone: Richard Grayson's best friend and fellow thug. Age 22.  
Garfield Logan: The resident rat, dishing out secrets for the right price. Age 20.  
Kori Anders: An extremely polite hooker. Good friends with Richard and Victor. Age 21.  
Raven Roth: Practically lives at Bruce Wayne's bar. A very moody alcoholic. Age 21._

_So, there's how it goes. Hope you all enjoy. Read on. Oh, and you may noticed that I've dropped the notice of putting whose view it's in. Just decided to become a little more professional…_

_I do not own Teen Titans._

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**_Illegal Lives_**

Chapter 1: Acquire The Goods

"You know those things will kill you, right?" Victor said in disgust. His best friend, Richard Grayson, just back in America from his trip to Japan, had just lit a cigarette.

"Yeah, I do, thank you very much, captain obvious," Richard replied without the faintest hint of really caring what Victor had to say.

"Just makin' sure. I thought you quit though?" Victor questioned. He distinctly remembered Richard saying that he was giving up smoking when he left a month earlier.

"Oh, I did, but that lasted about two days. The second I got to Japan I was breaking out another pack." Richard put the cigarette in his mouth and turned on the car. He put it into drive and backed out of the parking space they were in. "And since when do you care about my health?" He asked Victor.

"You're my best friend, man, of course I care. I just thought that you had a little more will power than this," Victor replied with a smirk. Richard shook his head and drove out of the parking lot, mumbling something that sounded strangely like "you're an ass."

Richard drove down the road quickly, going a little too much over the limit. It didn't really matter though, they had the cops paid off. Half the city was theirs. The other half was up for grabs. Their only seemed to be one crime lord doing anything, other than Bruce Wayne of course, and that was someone that went by the initials 'DS'. It was unknown who they truly were, but both Bruce and Slade regarded the mystery man, or woman, as a threat.

"It's not an easy addiction to break, and considering I've been doing it since my family died, I doubt I'm about to stop all these years later." Richard turned a corner sharply, ignoring the pedestrian that was attempting to cross the street safely.

"I'm not gonna judge ya. After all, we both remember my gambling addiction. I'm just saying, try not to do it so much. I don't want you to die on me" Victor said with an innocent smile. Richard gave him a guilt ridden look, then growled and tossed his cancer stick out the window.

"You might be the only person who could get me to put out one of those," Richard grumbled.

"What about Bruce?" Victor asked curiously.

"What about him?"

"Oh, c'mon. Everyone and their brother knows that Bruce scares the hell out of you. Hell, he's always scared you, or at least for the seven years I've known you." Victor tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"You think that old man scares me? Please, as if. Maybe when I was younger and just getting into his business, but not anymore." Richard's voice was a little shaky and he was avoiding looking in Victor's general direction.

"You need to learn how to lie better," Victor said.

"And you need to learn how to shut up," Richard shot back rudely. A twinge of anger shot through Victor.

"Hey," Victor leaned over near his friend. "Don't be such a dick, Dick." Victor put an emphasis on Richard's "other" name. He hated to be called Dick.

"I told you not to fucking call me that," Richard said. He stopped at a red light abruptly and turned in his seat. "I don't call you Vic, so you'd better not call me Dick." Victor laughed slightly. That much was true. They had a silent agreement not to call each other by any nicknames that the other hated.

"Alright, alright." Victor saw the light up above turn green, and he glanced down at a piece of paper next to him on the seat. "You're gonna wanna merge on right here for about five miles," He said, pointing out exit 53 to Richard, and his friend slid smoothly into the merging lane.

Richard glanced down at the paper that Victor was holding, trying to read some of the words. It had just occurred to him that he wasn't too clear on what their assignment was. He wasn't exactly the best listener when it came to Bruce Wayne talking. 'Too many lectures' He thought to himself as he got onto the highway fully.

"Shouldn't be too hard of a job. We're supposed to head to this house over on First and Third Avenue, where there are a group of teens staying," Victor answered.

Richard scratched his head. "And why are these kids so important to Bruce?" He asked.

"Hm… Bruce says that they managed to get into his mansion and steal something crucial. He just wants it back from these three, who called themselves 'The H.I.V.E.' and are apparently moving up in the crime business." Victor scanned the rest of the paper for anything else.

"Well, who are these kids and what the hell are we supposed to do with them once we get this so-called 'crucial' item back?" Richard asked impatiently.

"Stop calling them kids, they're all nineteen, it's not like you're much older," Victor replied. Richard sometimes got on his nerves with his attitude. "And Bruce never mentioned killing them or anything, so I guess it won't matter."

"And how about some background info on them?" Richard fired off another one.

"Three teens, no known names. It's like they just appeared out of the blue. Alls we have are some aliases. There's a large one, goes by Mammoth, who's apparently the brawn. Then there's Gizmo, some short hacker guy, who's supposed to be the brains. And-" Richard hit a pothole, interrupting him. "And there is a girl who goes by the name Jinx. Logan really didn't get much about-"

"Logan got this information? Shit, I should have known. Bruce has some creepy obsession with that little fucker, and thanks to that, Logan has some damn obsession with us. Why the hell are we even going on something that kid said after what happened before Japan?" Richard spat out. Victor shrugged.

"He made one mistake in two years of informing, big deal. We both got out alive anyways, didn't we?" Victor struggled to hide his anger. Truth be told, he was still mad at Logan for giving them some bad information; information that got Roy, another employee, shot. Rumor had it that Slade personally gave Logan a beating for that slip-up.

"Yeah, well, if you die, don't say I didn't warn you." Richard put on a signal and zoomed across several lanes of traffic before comfortably slipping into the merge off lane. They were only a few minutes away now.

"The guns in the trunk?" Victor asked, looking back behind them as if he could see through the seats. Richard cleared his throat, tapping Victor on the shoulder and pointing at the glove box.

"Should be two fully loaded guns in there." Richard glanced down at the directions, then turned down a street shortly after. Victor opened the glove box and looked around at the neighborhood.

"Shitty place," Victor said to Richard, who nodded.

"If you want to lay low, hiding out in a place like this isn't such a bad idea. Crappy housing is a small price to pay if it keeps you hidden." Richard shrugged after a curious glance from Victor, who proceeded to open the glove box.

"Five-seven…" He said under his breath. Victor took out a gun, made sure it was fully loaded, and then put it on the dashboard as Richard stopped the car outside a small house. Then he grabbed his own gun, making sure that it was loaded as well, and sat back in his seat.

"Let's just get this package and go. I've only been back from Japan for a little bit, haven't even had time to settle back into the apartment. I just wanted to relax a little, have a beer, watch some normal Tv, but no! Bruce just had to send me on another assignment." Richard gritted his, parking the car and then turning it off. He opened his door and got out, Victor following suit.

"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten into the business if you weren't prepared to do these jobs randomly. I mean, considering that Bruce took you in when you were just a kid, you'd think that you'd be a little grateful and do this stuff without question," Victor lectured.

"I am grateful, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to bitch and moan. I showed up for the job, and I think that's enough alone. I'm only going in with you to watch your back," Richard said. Victor grinned.

"Thanks a lot. Now let's get this over with." Victor's grin faded as him and Richard slammed their doors shut, and they walked around to the back door casually, trying not to attract attention to themselves.

"One, two, three," Richard whispered. Victor and him both jumped in front of the door, kicking it with all their might and bashing it open. The door hit the wall inside with a bang, and the two friends peered inside at three people sitting in the living room. They walked in slowly.

"Hey, what the hell is this?" The large one, obviously Mammoth, growled from the couch. Another one, short and bald, Gizmo, jumped up from a chair near the television that was on.

"Have a seat," Richard said, shoving Gizmo back into the chair, who promptly toppled over. Mammoth took a large step towards Richard, who lifted his gun and pointed it at the gigantic person towering over him. "Have a seat," He repeated firmly. Mammoth sat down, grumbling quietly.

"Call the girl out here," Victor said to Gizmo. He looked behind him into a dark back room, then shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gizmo replied. He was a good liar, and had they not known that there was a girl actually living with them, Victor might have believed him. But that wasn't the case.

"Call the girl, now. Call Jinx," Victor ordered, showing that he knew the girl's name even.

Gizmo frowned, then turned his head back and bellowed, "Jinx, get out here!"

Richard and Victor took their eyes off of those in front of them to look at a half-awake girl walking out of the back bedroom. Her arms were raised in the air as she yawned.

"What's going on?" She asked sleepily. Jinx rubbed her eyes with both hands before opening them fully and staring straight at Victor. "Who are they?" She said quickly.

"Some guys, just burst in here and started ordering us around. If they didn't have those guns though…" Mammoth let his threat trail off with a piercing look from Richard, who was back to watching the other two. Victor, however, was still looking at Jinx.

She was shockingly pretty, definitely not the type of girl you'd expect to be hanging out with the two punks nearest him. She was wearing a black tank top that looked a little too small for her. Her bottom half consisted of a black skirt, and Victor could see part of what looked like black and purple striped stockings. She had long, bright pink hair, but it did nothing to distract him from her face, which was extremely pale.

"Sit down," Richard ordered, nodding at a spot on the couch next to Mammoth. Victor shook his head to get back to his senses, taking his eyes off of Jinx and focusing on the entire group as she took a seat.

"You guys just gonna gawk all day, or do you plan on telling us why you're here?" Gizmo spat out rudely. Richard and Victor both stared at him curiously. Consider that he was staring two guys with guns in the face, he sure was straight forward.

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?" Victor questioned. When Gizmo gave him a confused look, he continued. "We're here for something you stole. Our employer, Mr. Wayne, is looking to retrieve an item, a briefcase, and I'm sure that you have it here. Now, let's make this easy. Go and get the case," Victor finished calmly, watching as Gizmo looked at his friends for support.

"Are you deaf? He said to go get the case. Get it, or we can resort to doing this the hard way," Richard said. He brought his gun to head level, and Gizmo shot out of his chair and into the back room. He returned a moment later, carrying a black briefcase shakily. He stood back near the kitchen, unmoving.

"We can't give this to you, he'll kill us," Gizmo told them. "Jinx, Mammoth, help me out here…" He pleaded.

"He's right," Jinx said to Mammoth. She turned to them. "This isn't something we can just give back. I mean, DS will kill-"

"DS? You work for that guy? Who is he?" Richard spoke quickly, urgently. Victor knew that Richard was dying to know who DS was just as much as Bruce. But there was no answer, just a shrug from Jinx.

"We never got to see him, only spoke over the phone. He told us to steal that, then lay low and hold it for a while. We're supposed to get a huge payoff for this, and he said that there would be more jobs. But…" Jinx went silent.

"But what?" Victor asked quickly.

"He said he'd kill us if we screwed this up. He said that he doesn't want Wayne getting it back, cause he doesn't deserve it," Gizmo answered.

"Just get out," Mammoth roared, standing up from the couch. Richard fired a shot off into the air, bits of ceiling falling down from above slowly. Mammoth slowly backed down into his seat once again.

"I don't care what you have to say. Whether you three live or die does not matter to me, as long as I have the case. Now… give it to me, or I start shooting." Richard pointed his gun at Gizmo.

Victor could feel his heart pumping rapidly in his chest. Richard could normally be a nice guy, but when he was on a job, he was ruthless. He had a reputation in Jump. It wasn't as big of one as say, Bruce Wayne or Slade Wilson, but for a common thug, he was pretty well known. Victor forced a grin when Richard smirked at him.

"I'm not gonna die from you two punks." Mammoth shot up from the couch and charged at Richard, knocking his gun out of his hand and pushing him against the wall. Victor started to aim his gun towards the behemoth, but Jinx kicked the gun away from him. Gizmo stood back in the kitchen, frozen in fear.

"Little help here!" Richard yelled. Mammoth had him shoved against the wall and Richard was doing his best to not get crushed.

Victor dodged around Jinx, who was now wielding a knife, and grabbed his gun. He shoved her aside when she came at him, aiming wildly and firing a shot towards Mammoth, who got hit in the shoulder and fell forward in pain. Richard used that moment to shove him off.

"Don't point that at him!" Jinx yelled as Victor pointed his gun at Mammoth's back. She sliced the air, forcing Victor to fall back into a wall. A shot fired into the air as Jinx's arms flailed about, trying to hit Victor. He grabbed onto to both of her arms and looked behind her to see a smirking Richard stepping over Mammoth, who was on the ground in an increasingly growing pool of blood.

"Hey," Richard whispered. He had gotten next to Jinx and had the gun up against her temple. Jinx's eyes widened only for a moment, then Richard pulled the trigger, her head snapping to the side. Victor let go of her in shock, and the girl fell down to the ground.

"You didn't have to do that," Victor said angrily. Richard just frowned, shrugging.

A loud thump brought them back to reality. Gizmo had tripped over Mammoth's corpse, but he got up quickly and ran out the door. Victor scooped up his gun, then sprinted after him. Him and Richard reached the door quickly, and they both saw that Gizmo was halfway down the driveway.

"Out of my way," Richard mumbled under his breath. He took aim, closing one eye and firing a split second later. A strangled cry escaped from Gizmo's throat as he fell to the ground. Richard walked up and kicked him onto his back. "You should have just given us the case," He said, then fired a trio of shots into Gizmo's chest.

Victor sighed, watching while Richard kicked Gizmo into a clump of bushed and picked the briefcase off from the ground. A crowd was watching as they both climbed into the car. Richard tossed the case into the backseat, then started the car and floored it out of the neighborhood. Victor gave him a disgusted look.

"What?' Richard asked.

"You know what… you didn't have to kill them all, there was no point to it," Victor said in a bored tone. They had gone through this many times before.

"Oh, c'mon. That girl might have cut your throat if I didn't shoot her, and that other gun was gonna tear me to pieces, and I couldn't just let that short one get away. You should be glad… This way, you don't have any guilt on you." Richard talked as if he actually believed that he was doing Victor a favor.

"Just… drive." Victor turned his head to look out the window, silently trying to forget the faces of the people Richard had just killed.

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_I felt a little iffy on this one. Didn't seem like such a bad chapter. Had some action, had some talking. A well mix. Things will liven up, and next chapter, you'll get to meet some more of the characters. You know, I usually think out the plot entirely before I start the story, but I haven't got a clue as to what I'm going to do with this one. Oh well, at least I have ideas for the next chapter._

_Next chapter: Richard and Victor travel to Bruce Wayne's bar, where they discover that two fellow employees have died on two different assignments. Is someone knocking off members of Bruce Wayne's crew?_

_"It's a cat, just a cat."_

_-SinFire_


	2. Memories

_Yeah, I know, long break between updates. Believe me, I'm usually a one week type of guy, but I've had a hell of a lot of stuff going on lately. Charity event, vacation, fights, etc. It's been pretty hectic. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to continue with this, because I just haven't been in a writing mood. However, this seems to be a good way for me to relieve stress, so I thought, why not? I probably won't get as many reviews on this chapter, seeing as two of my reviewers (supposedly my friends) are ignoring me. Hopefully they'll both learn to forgive me and we'll start talking again, but if not, I guess that I've lost some reviewers, and more importantly, some friends. Anyways, read on, and review if you get a chance. Could use the feedback._

_I do not own Teen Titans._

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Chapter 2: Memories

He had been standing in a trance for what seem liked hours, but in reality was only fifteen minutes. Slade had brought him into an office and told him that Bruce would only be a few minutes, but that clearly wasn't correct. It was like a doctor's office. They tell you that the doctor will be in soon, but thirty minutes later, you're still waiting. Victor sighed, and just then, Bruce Wayne walked through the room.

"Welcome aboard, Victor. It's good to finally meet you. Richard has told me some great things about you." Bruce crossed the room in a few great strides, his hand extended out. Victor was taken aback at his size. He looked to be around six foot three, just an inch below Victor himself. He recovered quickly though, and gave Bruce a strong handshake.

"It's great to meet you too, sir," Victor said shakily. He felt a little sick here, standing in front of a crime legend. He let go off Bruce's hand, who showed a brief smile.

"You've got a good grip, I like that." Bruce walked around his desk and sat down in a large leather chair, placing both hands on the desk. "But please, don't call me sir. I hate being called sir," He added.

Victor nodded. "Alright, Bruce, er… Mr. Wayne, I mean." Bruce looked dead serious for a moment, but let out a booming laugh a moment later.

"Bruce is fine, Victor, Bruce is fine…" He mumbled as his laughter died, then began to search through a stack of papers, the top one with a picture of Victor on it.

Victor let out a large breath of relief. Bruce looked like a very menacing man, and he was known for being ruthless. Victor didn't want to start off on the bad side of someone that looked so menacing. Aside from his height, Bruce was built. He had very defined facial features, with dark eyes. His hair was pitch black, except for a streak of grey that shot through it on the side. Add his looks with the expensive looking black suit that he was wearing, and Bruce Wayne looked as tough as can be.

"Slade said that you took the interview well, and even handled the job he handed you with ease. Stealing that money from the Tortella's couldn't have been easy. You must be as good as they say," Bruce said.

"Well, the interview wasn't so bad, and taking that money wasn't that hard. They only had two guys guarding it, and neither was very tough."

"Don't be modest… Taking down two guys at once is a decent feat, and so is handling your interview with Slade as well as he said you did. Slade Wilson has a way of intimidating people." Bruce leaned back in his chair and stared at Victor, who couldn't help but smile after that.

"I admit, Slade did have a frightening kind of aura coming off of him, but I just shrugged it off. I knew that I needed to stay cool if I wanted to be working for you."

"And you will be working for me. First thing, in fact. Richard is busy getting ready what you need. He'll brief you." Bruce stood up and walked over to the door, and Victor followed, shaking his hand as Bruce extended it once again. "We look forward to having you as one of our best," The crime lord said, then let go. Victor went through the door and into a dim room, where Richard stood over a table.

"Oh, hey," Richard mumbled with a glance over his shoulder. "How'd it go with Bruce? He didn't freak you out, did he?" He asked.

"Naw, it was fine… What's going on right now? I didn't expect to be doing a job so shortly after becoming part of the… gang, or whatever." Victor walked over next to the table and looked down at the items on it. Two baseball bats, two butterfly knives, and some rope.

"Bruce likes to initiate his newcomers with a task right away, to prove they're serious. In his eyes, if you don't back out right away, it shows courage, dedication. The man loves bravery," Richard said with a laugh. "You are in though, right?" He added. Victor smiled.

"Yeah, of course. What are we doing?" He asked. Richard handed him a bat, then tossed him a knife.

"We, as in just the two of us, are going to put a scare into a couple of guys, brothers, that own a bar downtown, called Quencher's. They're supposed to give Bruce fifty-percent of the cash they make in their underground gambling ring, but they haven't paid in two weeks. Us two get to rough them up. Fun, huh?" Richard flashed an excited grin at Victor.

"Oh yeah, fun to the max," Victor said, chuckling. He pocketed the knife and spun the baseball around in his right hand. Richard picked up his own supplies, including the rope, and headed out the side door, into the back alley.

"You wanna drive the car there? I was gonna take my bike, but I'm not in the mood." Richard pointed over at a corvette in the open garage at the end of the alley.

"You, not wanting to ride your bike? Who are you and what have you done with Richard?" Victor joked. His friend laughed, tossing him the keys.

"Just drive the car, Vicky!" Richard yelled, still laughing, then dodged the stone that Victor picked up and threw at him in retaliation. Then they both climbed in, and drove off.

_---_

The bar was in downtown Jump City, and looked right at home with the rest of the place. It was a rundown place at the end of the road, and didn't look to have many customers. It sure explained why they did the gambling ring for the extra cash.

"It's real simple. We're just gonna go in, hit 'em a few times with the bat, tie 'em up, and leave. In and out, five minutes, tops." Richard briefed Victor on the way up to the door. It wasn't really necessary.

"Rich, I know what I'm doing here. It's not like I haven't done a job before," Victor said impatiently.

"True, but this is different. Now that you're officially part of Bruce's group, people are gonna remember your face. There might be a hit out on you if you start posing too big a threat. Believe me, I've heard rumors out there about people wanting me dead," Richard said, with something that almost sounded like pride in his voice.

"Hell, who wouldn't want you dead? With that cocky attitude, I can't believe someone hasn't killed you already." Richard gave him a glare, and Victor laughed.

"Har har. Just take it seriously, okay? The money is worth it, but trust me, things are going to be more dangerous now. I just hope that they haven't hired another gang to protect them. We don't need a gang war on our hands."

Richard stopped at the door, cracking it, and Victor peered inside. There were only a few people in, sitting at the door. One guy was clearing off a table, and the other stood behind the bar. 'They must be the owners' Victor thought. Richard opened the door slowly, and they both walked in. Richard tossed the rope on the floor and raised the bat.

"Hey, Quencher brothers, got a minute?" Richard called out over the music. The few customers inside looked over, saw the bats and rope, and jumped out of their seats, running for the door. Victor stepped aside and let them out. No point in hurting innocent bystanders. That was against his beliefs.

"Something you two want?" The brother behind the counter asked. Richard glanced at Victor, a questioning look on his face. How could they not know what they wanted? They must have been dumber than they looked.

"Yeah, actually, there is. We're here to collect the money you owe Bruce Wayne," Victor replied. Richard looked over and nodded his head, as if to say, "Good job."

"You can tell Wayne to go fuck himself. We cut a deal with another gang, and they'll be protecting us from now on. We don't need him or his henchmen." The other brother, the one clearing the tables and clearly the older one, had turned around to speak.

"If you got another gang protecting you from everyone else, that's fine, but you still owe Bruce Wayne two weeks worth of gambling profit. Cough it up, or you're gonna regret it," Richard said, twirling the bat.

"Well, you're not gonna get it, so I suggest you leave," The one behind the bar said. Victor saw him start to reach under the counter. "Go!" He yelled. The other brother hurled a glass at Richard and ran. The one behind the counter whipped out a shotgun and pointed it at Richard, but Victor was way ahead of him, already at the counter and swinging his bat into the gun, knocking it out of his hands.

"I'll handle this one, you get the other!" Victor yelled. Richard was way ahead though, rushing across the room in no time, right towards the door the other had ran through. Victor turned his attention back to the one in front of him, who was reaching back down for the gun. Victor slammed the bat onto his back.

There was a ruckus in the other room, that much was clear. Victor could hear a struggle, and shortly after, a bang. Was it a gunshot? 'No doubt' he told himself. "Get up!" He yelled at the man on the floor, who got up slowly and put his hands in the air.

"Drop it." Victor growled and looked over. Richard had his hands up. His right shoulder was bleeding, and the brother behind him was holding a pistol to his back. "Drop it now, or he dies." Victor slowly put the bat on the table.

"We just want our money. No one has to die here. And I think you should know that, if you do kill him, Bruce Wayne will stop at nothing to take you down. Killing him would be suicide," Victor said seriously. In front of him, Richard twitched his head downward. Victor got the idea.

"We have protection, we can handle it," He assured Victor, who grinned.

"Then you obviously don't know who you're dealing with," Victor said. Suddenly, Richard ducked down to the ground, and came back up with a punch, striking the man in the chest and sending him reeling. Victor threw his fist out and struck his own target, knocking him back.

"Hey!" A strangled cry came from Richard at the other end of the room. The man had somehow knocked Richard down to the ground and was pointing the gun at him. Victor knew he would shoot, and in an instant, he had taken out the knife, opened it, and threw it across the room. The blade planted itself right into the man's neck, who dropped the gun right into Richard's hands as he clutched at his neck.

"Nice throw, man!" Richard congratulated. "Woah, woah, woah!" Richard jumped up and pointed the gun at the gun behind the counter, rushing over. He had the bat in his hand, but dropped it immediately. "Pay the money," Richard said, then pistol whipped him, knocking the bartender down, unconscious.. "Let's go," Richard said.

They left the building in a hurry, climbing into the car. Victor started it and drove away, as Richard held a hand to his shoulder.

"That bastard got me good. He already had the gun out when I got into the room. They turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. But damn, you saved my ass. Thanks a lot, I didn't think you were so…"

Victor tuned him out. This wasn't how it should have been it all. Killing people wasn't part of what he did. He tried to avoid it if at all necessary, and even if the person who he killed did deserve it, he still didn't. But he had to do it, right? 'Yeah, right' he reassured himself. He had to do it…

_---_

"Awake now, eh? Better wake yourself up good before we get this case back to Bruce. I don't even know how you drifted off so fast…"

Victor awoke in the passenger seat of the car, and the first thing he did was look to make sure that the briefcase was still in the back seat. It was. He yawned, stretching, and remembered his dream. Then he recalled the job that they had just gotten done with. He didn't do the killing, but he felt just as guilty. He could have saved them, somehow.

"We've still got a few minutes," Victor said, looking at the road they were on. "I'll be alert, don't worry about it." Victor reached back and grabbed the case, putting it on his lap and resting his head on the seat. Then he began to think of the dream…

He was nineteen, and it was his first job with Bruce Wayne's group. It also marked the second time he had ever killed a man. The first time, he was only a kid, and he was forced to shoot his own father when he tried to kill him. He had never really gotten over that day, and for that reason, Victor tried to avoid killing, unless he absolutely had to do it. It just caused too much pain.

"You're not still mad at me, are you?" Richard asked. When Victor didn't reply, he continued. "Look, I know that I got a little carried away, but she could have killed you. I was trying to save your life. I didn't just kill her for fun." Richard sighed. Victor always got a little down when Richard killed someone. Maybe he didn't like to see death, or maybe he just hated seeing his best friend commit cold blooded murder. Richard wasn't sure.

"I know, you did what you had to do. You know me though. I don't like seeing people die like that. But hey, I'll forgive you in time, just like I always have." Victor spoke in a monotone. He wasn't really in a good mood.

"Well, erase that shitty sound from your voice. We're here." Richard parked the car in the garage behind the bar, climbed out, and locked it once Victor followed. "Give me the case," He ordered. Victor tossed it over the car to him.

"You think he's gonna want us to do more tonight? I'm actually kind of beat," Victor said, yawning again.

"You're beat? I'm the one whose been stuck on Japanese time for a month, hardly sleeping. If anyone needs a night off, it's me," Richard jabbed his thumb to his chest, and Victor smiled.

"Maybe so, but still, I feel dead tired. I just want to go home, eat some dinner, and sleep in tomorrow. Since you've been gone, I've been working my ass off. Bruce can give you the next solo job, or hell, he can let Slade and his guys handle it."

"Like Slade wants Bruce's hand-me-downs. I recall a conversation they had when I was fourteen, when they had only been merged for a couple of months. Bruce was always offering to allow Slade to take some of the bigger jobs that Bruce had set up, so that Slade could establish him. But Slade always spat in his face, like it was a disgrace that he needed Bruce's help to establish himself. He's always been stubborn like that, stupid old-"

"Not talking about me, are you?" The evil sounding voice came from in front of them. Richard and Victor looked up. Slade was standing in the doorway, a grim look on his face.

"No, we wouldn't dare do that." Richard grinned at Slade, who shoved his was past, stopping for a moment to turn back.

"You should really speak better of your elders. After all, I am better than you. Have some respect, Robin." Slade put an extra dose of venom on the last word, and Richard grimaced. Victor looked at the two of them. Why had he called him Robin?

"Get out of my face," Richard said. Slade's lips curled, and before Richard could get out another word, Slade had turned and walked away. "Asshole…" He mumbled. Richard led the way into the back of the bar, going through the first door and into the room where he and Victor had prepared for their first job together. Richard set the case onto the counter.

"I had a dream in the car," Victor said.

"Yeah? What was it about?" Richard didn't sound very interested as he grabbed a bottled water from the mini fridge and downed it.

"It was about our first job together, a couple years back. Remember?" Victor asked. He had no doubt that Richard did remember, as he cleared his throat awkwardly every time it was brought up. This time was no different.

"Yeah, I remember. The Quencher bros and all that. What about it?" Richard asked impatiently. Though the topic had only come up a few times, he hated talking about it.

"Just remembering it. His face when the knife hit him, the story in the paper about the other one's suicide… Sometimes I just can't get it out of my head," Victor said sadly. He sat down in a chair, tired.

"Listen, we all have something in our past that bothers us, something that makes us feel guilty and scared. But don't let it make you hate yourself, let it motivate you to be a better person. You aren't the only one with this kind of issue," Richard assured him.

"Is that so? Tell me then, Richard, do you have this type of problem? Something from your past that haunts you?" Victor asked curiously. Richard didn't look at him, rather, he looked at the gun on the table in front of him. Slade's gun. "Does it have something to do with what Slade said? That name… Robin?" Richard shifted uncomfortably when his eyes met with Victor's.

"It's in the past now. It doesn't matter," Richard said simply, turning around and walking out of the room and into the bar.

Victor sat in his chair for a few minutes, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened to Richard in the past. Robin… what could it mean? A nickname? His real name? He wanted to know, but this wasn't the time. Victor just wanted to get this briefcase to Bruce, go home, and rest.

Looking down at Slade's gun, he gave one last thought to what Slade could know that Victor didn't. He sighed, dropping the thought, and walked through the doors and out into the bar.

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_I've been watching a bit too much of the television show Lost lately. Felt like throwing in some memories from the past. Let you get to see what happened to them before now. Anyways, next chapter up in a week or two. Hopefully I can make it a wee bit longer. We'll see. Still trying to get some more ideas on this. If anyone wants to suggest some stuff, I'd like to hear it. If not, that's fine too. So, I'm off. Review if you wish too._

_Next chapter: Robin and Victor run into a few old friends; Logan, Kori, and Raven. But when they speak to Bruce, they find that someone has been killing off well known members of the gang. Could Richard and Victor be on the death list?_

_"I'm in a glass case of emotion!"_

_-SinFire_


	3. All Together

_It's been a while… A long, long while. So much has happened since when I've last updated. I lost a lot of friends, good friends. I've been through a breakup. Teen Titans was canceled. Can you believe that? I still refuse to. Looks like I'll never get to see that final season with Slade finally being defeated by Robin… Anyway, back to the actual story. Does anyone even watch me anymore? I figure that I might as well give it a shot. Since I'm such a fan of the TV show Lost, I've been pretty bent on making the characters in this story have flashbacks. So, if one pops up from time to time, don't be shocked. Oh, by the way, to be honest, I've missed writing on here. This could do me some good, so I think that I'll give it another go. If anyone reads this chapter, I'd appreciate a review. It's been so long since I updated, I think that a few good reviews would really help my motivation. But if you don't review, that's fine. I think I'll still get enjoyment out of this, review or no review. Well, read away._

_I do not own Teen Titans._

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Chapter 3: All Together

Although it wasn't what you'd call "drinking hour" in the bar, there were still a few people scattered throughout the place. A purple haired girl sat at the end of the bar. Victor didn't know her name, but he knew she was one of the many regulars. The Cave was rather popular, even with the rumors surrounding Bruce Wayne. Bruce made a lot of money off of it. Speaking of which, he had just spotted his boss in the corner table, next to Richard.

"Victor, have a seat!" Bruce's voice boomed at him over the music. Victor nodded and walked over, sliding out the open chair next to Richard. He sat down just as he remembered the brief case. He had left it in the other room.

"I'm gonna go get the case, left it in the other room. Be right back…" He said, standing up and turning around. Richard shot up out of his chair and smiled, shoving Victor back towards his shoved out chair.

"No, no, let me get it. I should have brought it out anyway." There was something strange about Richard's voice. He seemed very excited about going to get the case. Victor had been around long enough to determine that it meant Bruce had probably lectured him and he needed an excuse to get away. He nodded in agreement.

Victor sat back down, turning towards Bruce, who was looking toward the back exit. Victor looked as well, and saw Slade watching them from the back door.

"He said he was going to look for something, I wonder why he's back so quick." Bruce shrugged and turned back to Victor, smiling. "No problem with the case?" He asked.

It was Victor's turn to shrug. "It depends what you mean by 'no problems.' If you're asking if we got it, well yeah, we obviously did. Were there no casualties? I can't say the same…" He trailed off, biting his lower lip.

Bruce reached over and put an arm on Victor's shoulder. He always liked to make these little moves, as if it made people more comfortable. Actually, it kind of did help. After all, his parents weren't around anymore, so this fatherly sort of treatment was always welcomed.

"Richard told me about what happened. You have to understand, his background isn't what you'd call picture perfect. He's been like this for the entire duration of our friendship. But no matter what you think, he doesn't like to kill innocent people. In his eyes though, killing this group was the best way to go about things. Try not to let him get to you." Bruce shook his shoulder and smiled warmly, and Victor couldn't help but smile back.

Richard returned to the table after a moment of silence, setting it down in front of Bruce and taking a seat. Bruce ran a hand along the top of the case, nodded in satisfaction, and set it under the table.

"Now, your payment." Richard and Victor exchanged excited glances. Bruce had promised them each twenty grand for this job alone, which was double what they usually got for jobs in this zone. They both knew that this case had more value to Bruce than most items. "Off you go," Bruce said, waving his hand. Both of them stood up and left the table.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Richard asked, grinning. He led Victor to a table in the corner and sat down, looking inside the case for the money and then putting it on the floor next to him,. Victor sat across from him, but kept his case in hand. He didn't check it. He never did. Victor trusted Bruce.

"I'm just glad that he didn't try to throw more work our way. I am so not in the mood to go anywhere but home." Victor stretched his arms over his head and cracked his back. He didn't really do that much, but man, he felt sore.

Just then the door opened, and in walked Garfield Logan, causing Victor to smile and Richard to scowl. Five feet, four inches, one hundred pounds, spiked up blonde hair, green eyes. If he was a little taller, girls might be all over him. Oh, and he would have to be a little bit less of a dork. His days were usually spent playing video games and eating comic books, and his nights were spent gathering information that he could sell to Bruce. In truth, Logan, as he preferred to be called, had a great life, but that didn't stop them from making fun of him.

"Hey guys!" Logan rushed over to the table and took a seat in between them. "What's up?" He asked, looking down at their cases. "I see you two just got paid for a job. Was it about that case Bruce wanted back? You know, I got him that info. Wasn't hard either, just needed to-"

"Hey, Garfield… shut up, okay? We get it, you're a pro at picking up information. Truth be told, I wouldn't be so pleased with myself if I was a weasel like you, but hey, whatever floats your boat," Richard said.

Logan suddenly became red with anger. "First off, what I do is tough work, and second, I told you not to call me Garfield!"

Victor chose that time to step in. "Aw, relax Logan, he just likes picking on you because you're a kid. Everyone does." He grinned widely in Logan's direction, who let out something between a squeal and a growl.

"We've got an underage kid trying to buy drinks over here, someone come here and throw him out!" Richard yelled, and Victor howled with laughter as Logan clawed at his friend. In the back, Victor saw Bruce wave off the bartender. Logan calmed down a minute later.

"You two can keep arguing, I'm gonna go and buy a drink," Victor mumbled. Richard and Logan didn't seem to notice, as they were both still having a fight, although a verbal one. "Get me a beer, any beer," Victor told the bartender. He came back a minute later, and Victor went into deep thought as he took a sip.

He hadn't talked about it with anybody, but Victor was thinking about getting out of the business. If anyone asked him about his experience as part of Bruce Wayne's gang, he would tell them the truth: He loved the money and he loved the people, but he couldn't stand being around so much death. It just wasn't for him.

Telling Richard would be the hardest. He knew that his best friend loved working with him. It was all over his face. But if Richard was a true friend, which Victor trusted him to be, then he wouldn't get upset over Victor quitting.

Everyone else would be a breeze to tell when compared to Richard. Victor knew that Bruce had let several people go happily, even got them parting gifts. He and Bruce were close, so Victor didn't expect it to be too difficult. As for everyone else? Well, they'd understand. He didn't really care about them so much, it's the thought of what his parents would think…

"Dad… Mom…" Victor closed his eyes, trying to push them out of his head, but he couldn't. He never had gotten over the guilt, no matter how many times Richard assured him that what happened wasn't his fault.

Richard and him went to the same high school. Back then, Bruce was in Gotham, but he had gotten Richard his own small place to go to school in Jump. Bruce visited twice a month, which Richard seemed to love and hate. Victor and him had met in detention, and from there on, they were best friends. Victor was the star football player, and was very popular. Richard was more of the school punk, and a bit of an asshole, but he had a lot of friends too. They both graduated with great grades, and it was in senior year that Richard told him about Bruce and his criminal ways. Richard said that he could have gotten him a job, but Victor didn't want one. He had a football scholarship and was looking into something a little more legal. But that was all before the accident.

A couple weeks after graduation, he was driving his Mom home from work. His parents were both high level scientists at some tech company, so they drove together, but on that day Victor's Dad stayed behind late. While on the drive home, Victor swerved off the road into a tree trying to avoid a kid in the road. He lived, but his Mom died. His Dad never forgave him, and Victor hated him for it. A year later, his Dad was dead too, from lung cancer, and he never got to say goodbye. It's part of the reason that Victor hates Richard smoking. He wasn't going to lose two people to that disease.

Everything went downhill, and so fast. Victor never bothered with college. His parents gave him everything in their wills, and he sold it all away. He blew a lot of money gambling, and the only reason he got through it was because of one person: Richard. He got him into Bruce's gang, and everything had picked up since. But still… sometimes he hated his life.

"Victor, are you okay?" A sweet voice asked him. He looked up, and there was Kori Anders, looking as beautiful as ever.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, you know?" He answered quickly. Kori nodded and took the twirling stool next to him. He took that moment to look her up and down. She looked to be "off duty", even if she was wearing some strange clothes. All purple, he noticed.

"Yes, I know. How have you been?" She asked, sounding genuinely curious. Victor smiled. She was a smart girl, but somehow she always sounded naive. From the outside, you'd think she was innocent, but Kori was far from it, at least in sexual terms.

"Well, Richard is back in town, so everything is going pretty good now. A few snags here and there, but it's all good." Victor noticed that she had a confused look on her face, and he knew why. Supposedly, she was foreign, which would sure explain the odd skin color, hair, and the very proper English that she spoke. He had a feeling that she had yet to grasp what a lot of things meant.

"I am glad to hear that," She said. Kori leaned over onto his shoulder, and Victor smirked. Once in a while, Kori and him got into some interesting situations, which always made Richard jealous. He thought she was the hottest thing on two legs. Considering Kori was one of the best hookers in town, Richard could just pay the right price and have his way. He never did though.

Speaking of Richard, Victor didn't see him talking to Logan anymore. Logan was over with Bruce, who was laughing and patting him on the back. Victor knew that he liked that. Apparently, Logan had been parentless since a very young age. Victor felt for him. Seems like a lot of people were without parents these days…

Unknown to Victor, Richard wasn't so far away. He was down at the end of the bar, sitting next to the purple haired girl, who was working on her third drink. Richard took a look at her out of the corner of his eye. Her purple hair was down to her shoulders, and it made her pale skin look even whiter. The girl's face looked mean, but something about her made him think that she wasn't mean at all.

"Hey, I've seen you here before. Actually, I've seen you here a lot. You like your drinks?" Richard asked casually.

The girl looked over at him and scowled, but answered a moment later. "They have alcohol in them, so I guess so."

Richard couldn't help but laugh. He looked around the room, and for a moment he could sense her looking at him. Maybe she had some interest in him? 'I can only hope' he thought. While in Japan, he didn't exactly get any action. All work and no play.

"Same goes for me. Bruce Wayne, the guy who owns this place, is kind of my care taker, so you can consider these drinks on me. Bruce won't mind." Richard smirked, but he could see that she didn't seem too impressed.

"You're not the only one who gets their money for doing nothing," She mumbled, finishing off her drink and ordering another one in a flash.

This girl sure was strange. Much different than most girls in here. Unlike the others, she didn't really come off as a slut, but he knew that with her looks she wasn't a virgin. He also couldn't help but notice that there were markings on her arms, as if she had been cutting herself. Depression would sure explain the angry facial expressions.

"My name is Richard, Richard Grayson. What might yours be?" He said. Richard extended his hand, not sure if she'd take it, but she did.

"Raven Roth… Nice to meet you," She replied.

Maybe this girl didn't hate him as much as he thought she might. After all, judging from her looks, a "nice to meet you" was getting pretty far.

"So… Raven, who supplies your drinking money?" He asked, hoping this wasn't getting too personal.

Raven hadn't touched her new drink, which Robin took as a good sign. She really did have some interest in him. Perhaps his question helped more than hurt. "That would be my father, Tom Nomed. Before you ask, I kept my mother's name, even after I began to live with my father. You might have heard of him. He went to jail six months ago for murder, and he was apparently the leader of a big crime ring. I actually knew about the crime boss thing already, I just didn't care that much. Anyway, even though he can be a total ass, at least he lets me have all this money," She answered.

Richard laughed a little against his will. "Yeah, I know the name," He said. 'Understatement of the year' he thought. The murder that Nomed, or Trigon, as he was known in the crime world, went to jail for was actually committed by Roy Harper. Richard and him did the job together, and set it up to make it look like Trigon had committed it. Worked like a charm, and Bruce was only too happy to pay both Richard and Roy a good amount for the setup. One less crime boss to deal with.

"Now I live all alone in a nice apartment, spend the occasional night at a poetry bar down the road drinking tea, spend some time here and there talking to people I can tolerate, and spend the rest of my time in this bar drinking my life away. Fun, huh?" Richard gulped nervously as Raven returned to her drink.

Richard looked across the bar and saw that Victor and Kori were having what looked like a nice chat. Logan was sitting at a table by himself now, playing with what looked like a gameboy. 'Fucking dork.' Richard motioned Victor over to Logan with his hand, and his friend pointed out Logan's table to Kori.

"My friends Victor and Kori seem to want us to go sit with that kid Logan, care to join me?" Richard asked, putting his hands together as if he was begging.

"I'm not really a social person. You're lucky I'm even talking to you," Raven mumbled, but it didn't stop Richard from hearing that she was exaggerating. She actually did want to talk to him, he could tell.

"I just think that a pretty girl like you shouldn't sit all alone in a bar." Even though it was dim, he still saw her blush a little. "You don't even have to talk, c'mon."

"…You just won yourself some more time with me, let's go," She said. Raven picked up her purse from the floor and followed Richard over to the table. He looked down at the briefcase of his money on the floor, then at Raven behind him, and smiled. He had a feeling that his day was just getting started.

---

It was many, many hours later. Everyone drank a fair amount at the table, except Logan, who hardly ever drank, and was also underage, not that it ever really stopped him when he felt like it. Richard was pleasantly surprised to see that Raven had stopped her drinking though. It was obvious that she was an alcoholic, so it came as quite a shock that she didn't have a drink. But it was a good kind of shock. He was beginning to really like her.

"My uh… guardian got me through most of my childhood. He had a fair amount of money, and even if he was pretty hard on me, he was always there to help me out. Since he owned a lot of animals, I got pretty involved with animal rights. You could say I'm a little nuts over them." Logan smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

"It's kind of surprising that you don't go by 'Garfield'," Raven said, gathering the attention of everyone, especially Richard. "Because, you know, of the cartoon cat and all." She smiled widely. "It isn't that dorky of a name."

Everyone burst out laughing, except Logan, who turned bright red and glared at Raven, not looking as if he was truly angry, just embarrassed. Victor banged the table as Kori fell onto his shoulder laughing. Richard offered a high five to a slightly uncomfortable looking Raven, but she raised her hand and he slapped it lightly. He was happy to see she had at least gotten around to making jokes.

Logan impatiently waited until the laughter died down to speak. "Har har, real funny. You all got it out of your system now? Yeah, my name is Garfield, get over it. I prefer Logan, okay? So just lighten up."

The others continued talking. Richard looked at Bruce, his friends, and everybody else in the room. Things seemed to be at a high point for everyone from the looks of it. Yeah, he liked how this day way going…

But then it all went to hell.

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_You know what? It took me weeks and weeks of attempting to finish this, but I finally got it done, and I feel decent. I know it didn't provide anything really interesting, but it introduced the other characters, and that's what's important at this point. I'm not really sure how the reviews will be, what with Teen Titans canceled and all, but I hope some people will still R&R this. If things go smoothly, you can look for a chapter within the next couple of weeks._

_Next Chapter: After a hectic moment at the bar, Bruce allows Richard and Victor to enjoy some time alone with the girls. What will develop?_

_"It's a work in progress… but at least it's working."_

_-SinFire_


	4. The Calm Before The Storm

_I'm only slightly behind schedule right now. I wanted this updated last Friday, but I had a crazy weekend, then a major family thing going on a couple days ago. But a week late is better than a few months late, so I'd say that I'm in pretty good shape. Anyway, this chapter is going to feature a dual flashback, so if you like those, you'll probably enjoy this chapter. Though, I must admit, I wouldn't really call this chapter amazing. It's another "quiet chapter", as I like to call it. Most of it is insight into Raven and Kori's background, rather than a focus on any pairings. But after this, there is going to be a lot of action. Fighting, swearing, surprises, and yes, a lot of death. I hope that the reviews will keep on coming in. Oh, that reminds me. Thanks for all the reviews. It's great that people still have interest in this story after all that time. That meant a lot, so thanks to all of you that reviewed. Well, read on now. By the way, did I mention that this chapter is going to be very long? Perhaps sixty percent more than usual. Have fun with that._

_I do not own Teen Titans._

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Chapter 4: The Calm Before The Storm

"Don't you understand how this would affect us? This treaty would greatly aid our country's economy!"

"I do understand how this would affect us, quite well, but it is my belief that the consequences down the line would not be worth it. Depending on a country like Russia could very well ruin our nation. Yes, they are much more stable than us, but if something happens to their country, we would be forced to assist them, and we don't have the resources for something like that."

"You're making a huge mistake. Our country needs this. We're in a depression, and without receiving help soon, we may never get out of it. Think of your children, think of our people!"

"That is enough. We will continue this discussion another time. For now, I want you to go back to your own home and think this through again. Perhaps you will begin to see things my way."

"As you wish, sire… But come tomorrow, perhaps it will be you, Myand'r, who will see things my way."

Kori looked up from her food and watched as Norand'r got up from his chair and stormed out of the dining room, cursing in English rather than in Tamaranian. He had hardly touched his food, and if she had felt a little more comfortable, she might have asked to eat it. Tamaranians were well known for their appetite.

"Kom, Kori, I am sorry that you had to hear that. Norand'r just refuses to see that Russia is not the right nation to side with. If it had been England, I might have agreed, but it was not. We'll just have to wait a little while longer before we can get out of this depression. Time changes everything, and usually for the best," Her Father said, a fake smile spreading across his face.

Next to her, Kori's sister, Komand'r, who went by the name Kom, sighed. "But Father, he is right. Our country is in a depression, and signing an agreement with another country, even Russia, would greatly help us. Why not just-" Their mother, Luand'r, raised a hand to silence her.

"Your Father is the ruler of this country, and if he believes that this is the right choice, then it is," She said. Kom opened her mouth to speak, but their Mother saw it coming. "Do not argue with me. Finish your dinner and go to your room." Kom grumbled, shove her plate away disobediently, and ran upstairs.

Kori moved her plate away as well, standing. "Mother, Father, I am going to my room," She said quietly, then ran into the other room before they could say anything.  
Truth be told, she wasn't sure who to side with. She loved her Father dearly, but she was secretly angry that he hadn't managed to get their country out of this depression. Their country had never been very prosperous, but the past two years had been much worse than usual. Norand'r was her Father's top associate, and he had traveled all over the world searching for an ally to assist them. Norand'r wanted America to be an ally, but Russia turned out to be the only eager country.

When she was little, her Father would sit her down with her brother and sister, and say, "Ryand'r, Komand'r, Koriand'r, one day, this country will be all yours. I am confident that you will make our nation more powerful than it ever has been."

Back then, she had loved living in Tamaran. That had changed in the last few years. Now it was nothing special. She was tired of it. Though she had never mentioned it to her parents, she really wanted to live in America. She had heard such wonderful things about it. Lately, she had come so close to bringing it up, but she was scared. Although she was 19 years old, Kori had never been out on her own. Also, she had a feeling that her parents were leaning towards her to rule the country after they stepped down. She didn't want to disappoint them.

"Lost in thought again, sister?" Kom's cold voice came from Kori's dark bedroom at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I was a little lost," Kori replied cheerfully. Her sister and her had never gotten along, but Kori always tried to keep them on the best terms possible.

"Father is acting ridiculous. Our country is never going to get back to normal if he does not take a risk. It is too bad that they have made it clear that I will not rule. I would make it a much better place…" Kom trailed off. Kori bit her lip. It made her feel awkward when Kom talked about their Father this way.

"I am sure that our brother will allow you to help in the decision making. You know he values both of our opinions. Once he comes back from the west-" Kori said.

"Ryand'r has no plan to rule this country. We both know that our parents intend for you to be ruler. You are too perfect to keep from the throne," Kom said venomously, making Kori feel even more awkward.

"Well, I am going to go and talk to Galfore, I will see you later," She said randomly. Kori speedily shuffled away, walking across the house and all the way to Galfore's room. He was the family caretaker, and was a very good person.

"Hello, Kori, how are you?" His gruff voice said in English from behind her.

Kori racked her memory, trying to recall their last secret English lesson. "I… am… okay," She replied slowly. Galfore smiled.

"You did good," He said, back in their native tongue. She sighed, licking her lips hungrily at Galfore's sandwich. Her appetite was back.

"Thank you… May I talk to you in private?" She asked politely.

"Certainly," He answered. Galfore waved a hand to his room. Kori walked in, and she heard Galfore shut it a moment later. "Kori, I know what you're going to say, and there's only one thing that we can do…" He said. Her stomach clenched, because she knew what was coming. Galfore turned towards her. "We have to tell them that you want out."

---

It had only been two weeks since she had told her parents that she wanted to leave for America, but she felt like a totally different person. American culture was so different. There were so many people, so many tall buildings, and a McDonald's on every corner. Her country didn't have a McDonald's, but so far she was loving how it tasted.

The only problem was work. Her parents had acquired her a small place to live, and they found somebody to help her get along, but no one had bothered to help her get a job. She had completed school in Tamaran, but her parents insisted she wait a few years before she did anything further. Ryand'r was the only member of the family who had bothered to get further schooling right away.

Kori went from place to place in the first week, looking for people hiring, asking for applications, and even doing a few on the spot interviews. It was all a waste of time. She had no luck. Although she had enough money to last a few months, she believed that it would be better for her if she could have some financial security. She loved America, and she refused to leave over something as simple as money.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Someone asked. Kori saw a man a few feet away, staring at her through the light snow that Gotham had going.

"Me? Oh, I am fine, thank you for asking," She replied. Nervous as she was, Kori had still managed to say it perfectly in English. She had really gotten the hang of it.

The man crept closer, looking her up and down. His eyes lingered on her dark red hair. He smiled suddenly. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Koriand'r," She mumbled.

"Kori Anders?" He asked, and without waiting for a confirmation, he shot off another question. "You need a job?"

"Yes! Do you have a job for me? I have been looking for one." Kori was dancing on the inside. Finally, someone was willing to give her a job.

"Well, I've got an idea for you. It isn't for everybody, but I think you could pull it off nicely if you got the hang of it…" He trailed off for a moment, his eyes darting around, occasionally stopping on her chest. "How old are you?"

Kori shifted uncomfortably. She had heard that American men did not have much respect for women. The rumors seemed to be true. "I am 19," She finally answered.

The man clapped his hands excitedly, then grabbed onto Kori's hand. "Come with me, I think you're gonna like this."

---

"Kori, you okay?"

Kori snapped out of her mini-trance, the sound of music filling her ears. Suddenly she was back in the bar, Victor next to her. He looked concerned.

"Yes, I am fine. Just… thinking," She said, giving a weak smile. Victor seemed satisfied, turning back to his friends. The alcohol she had drank made the room swing for a moment, but she shook it off.

'Two years…' She thought. She had been in America for a little more than two years now. The moment she had just lost herself in was a little bit strange. She remembered it so well. The man, Elliot, had brought her to a large apartment. There were girls there, some dressed, some completely naked. They were talking about their latest "shifts", laughing at one another's stories. Kori remembered how shocked she was when she learned exactly what the job she was getting

Really, she didn't plan on staying in this kind of work. At first, she hated it. Since she had no experience, another girl had to teach her everything. Her first night out was terrible. But just three months later, she found herself completely okay with everything. The money was good, she worked a safe part of town, and she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the sex. After a year passed, she had met Victor, gotten herself a nice place, and even officially changed her name to Kori Anders. Still… she had never really wanted this for herself. Also, she never told her parents the whole truth. She just called her work "sales." Her parents thought that she meant real estate, so she just played along, and everyone was happy. Perhaps someday she would explain everything to them. Perhaps someday she would get out of this life and do something worthwhile…

Out of nowhere, a loud bang snapped her out of her latest trance.

"What in the hell was that?" Richard yelled. Kori saw that many of the customers were looking in the direction of the sound, which had come from near the back. Then she saw Slade Wilson appear from around the corner and wave someone over, and a moment later Bruce Wayne walked by and followed Slade out of the room.

Victor stood up, motioning for Richard to follow. "We should check this out, could be important." He paused, looking at Logan. "You'd better come too." Logan nodded, and the three of them left, leaving Kori with Raven.

"What do you think that's all about?" Raven asked dryly. Kori shrugged.

"Perhaps it is just a drunken customer?" She suggested. Not a moment later, several yells came from the back room. Kori looked towards Raven, but the girl was gone, up at the bar getting a drink of something.

She knew enough about Bruce Wayne, Victor, and Richard to realize that this probably wasn't good at all. But then again, it could be a drunken customer, like she had said. Either way, she wanted her friends to return soon. She felt like getting out of this bar. Kori enjoyed drinking, but she was too tired to stay up much longer

"Much better," Raven said when she returned to the table, sounding totally out of it, yet somehow managing to look fairly sober.

"Do you always drink this much?" Kori asked, already knowing the answer. She was also a regular at the bar, because of Victor, but she asked the question just to release some tension.

Raven paid no attention it though. "My Mother is dead and my Father is in jail. I even helped put him there. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. He never treated me right. He got what he deserved."

Kori gulped, not sure of what to say. This was quite a random topic. Then she got an idea.

"I am actually a princess from a small foreign country in eastern Africa," She said quietly. As she had guessed, Raven didn't even realize what she had just confessed for the first time in America. "Thank you, I have been waiting to tell someone that for so long," Kori whispered. She smiled widely, looking up just in time to see Richard and Victor coming out of the back room. They looked dead serious.

"It's no big deal, just some commotion caused by someone outside," Bruce yelled from behind them. Richard and Victor exchanged strange looks, but they faded quickly once they reached the table.

"We're gonna get out of here," Victor said, nudging Richard.

"Yeah, there was a commotion back there, like Bruce said." Richard yawned loudly. "Neither of us are in much of a drinking mood now," He added. Kori knew better than to ask about the disturbance.

"Kori, I can give you a ride home, if you need one. I've had a bit to drink, so I'll take it slow, just for you," Victor said to her, winking. Kori nodded, smiling.

Next to her, Raven smashed an empty glass onto the table loudly. "I guess I had better get going," She said. Raven picked up her purse, but Richard grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I really don't think you should be driving," He said, concerned.

Raven stepped away, doing it in a way that would make you think she wasn't drunk at all. Her movements were perfect. If Kori didn't know better, she might think Raven was totally sober.

"Don't worry about me. I only live a mile away, so I walk. Hell, I don't even have a car. Everywhere I go is within five miles," She said.

Richard grabbed his briefcase from the floor. "Then I guess I'm going to walk you home," He told her. Raven shrugged.

"Oh joy, just what I was hoping for," She said sarcastically. Raven masked it well, but Kori saw the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.

"Yo, Logan!" Victor called across the room. Logan, who was talking to Bruce and Slade, looked over. "You need a ride home?" He asked.

Logan nodded a few times at what Bruce said to him, then walked slowly over to their table, hands in his pockets. "No, I'm good. Got my new moped today," He said when he got there, grinning widely and giving them a double thumbs up.

"Okay man, take care then." Victor held his arm out, and Kori gladly took it.

"I will… see you later," Kori said to Logan. She turned to Richard and Raven, who were talking quietly. "Raven, I hope to see you again." Raven nodded, which Kori supposed was a nice thing for her. "Bye, Richard…" She mumbled. He smiled, giving her a goodbye back.

Victor led her towards the main bar door, briefcase in his left hand, then grabbed her hand with his right and holding it tightly. "You have no idea how crazy this day has been…" He said as they walked out. Judging by how everyone was acting, Kori felt that she had a pretty good idea.

---

"You actually stopped drinking for a while there, I was shocked," He said to her. Raven laughed weakly.

"Not half as much as I was," She said, leaning on Richard. He put an arm around her to hold her closer. With any other person right then, she might have gotten angry. But with him… she liked it.

"So, uh… do you have a nice place?" Richard asked slowly.

"I don't know, I guess so. I've only been there for a few months. After my Father got put away, I decided to stay for a little bit. It was… too hectic though, and way too big for one person. Back when he was around, the size was a good thing. I could keep my distance. But without him there, it just didn't work out. A nice apartment suits me just fine anyway…"

"It seems like you really don't like him, but still… I'm sorry about your Father. Not having parents, even at our age, can be tough, don't you think?" Richard said.

It kind of seemed like he was opening up to her. He didn't sound like his usual careless self. She decided that doing the same right back was the right thing to do, even if it might freak him out. Totally ignoring the question, she launched into her story

"Even a year ago I was…"

---

Raven kicked off her shoes and tossed down her backpack. She threw her work hat onto the ground and rushed right to the fridge. She grabbed a random beer, opening it and downing half as fast as she could. It had been a long day, and relaxation was the top thing on her mind.

Plopping down on the couch, she flicked on an episode of The X-Files and stretched her limbs out. She had just worked a six hour shift on a Friday night, and she got to sit down for about a total of five minutes. She had never seen so many people come in to order pizzas.

"If Wayne wants to make this a gang war, then he'll get a gang war. He might have more control than anyone else in this city, but we can't let that stop us. Tom, I say that we strike now."

Raven grumbled at the sound of that voice. She got so tired of her Father and Blood discussing their little battle plans. He was there five nights a week, talking to her Father about all the competition in the city, suggesting ideas, delivering items. She couldn't stand Blood. What kind of a forty year old man had a nickname like that anyway?

"We aren't jumping into anything just yet. You know very well that he could crush us with ease. But soon, I promise we will fight back. Just be patient," She heard her Father say. Both him and Blood walked into the room a moment later.

"Raven, what a delight to see you. How was work?" Blood asked in a sickeningly sweet tone. Sometimes she thought he had a thing for her.

"I work for absolutely no reason, how do you think it was?" Raven said.

Blood gave a smirk in return. "Just because you're Father is rich doesn't mean that all work is pointless. It builds maturity and responsibility, aspects that you happen to be lacking in. Though a job clearly isn't-"

"Now Blood, don't talk to my daughter that way. She'll be your boss someday, once she comes around that is. It's only a matter of time," Her Father said. He grinned widely at her.

"I'd best be going then. I'll call if anything develops." Blood grabbed his coat, which was really a white robe sort of thing. "Tom," He said, nodding at her Father, who nodded back. Blood looked her in the eye. "Raven…" He mumbled, then headed out the door.

"Go to hell!" She called after him. Raven finished her beer and walked into the kitchen to get another one. She opened it and took a quick drink like she always did. When she turned around, her Father was practically on top of her.

"I've told you time and time again, my daughter, do not talk to my business partners like that," He said irritably.

Raven laughed in his face. "Why do you insist on calling him a business partner? He's your lackey, minion, goon, whatever you want to call him. Just because he's the top guy next to you doesn't make him any different from all the other low-lifes you control. It's pathetic."

Without warning, her Father slapped her in the face. Raven's beer fell to the floor, her face stinging with pain.

"I was going to drink that," She whispered, then went to go slap him back. Her Father easily caught her by the wrist and twisted. She started to cry out in pain, but quickly clenched her teeth to shut herself up. She didn't want him to have the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

"If you were anybody else, anybody at all, I would have killed you," He said. Her Father released her, and she rubbed her wrist immediately. "You are my daughter though, and for that reason I will allow you to occasionally act out. Keep it in mind though: One day I do expect you to be the leader of my people."

"I don't want anything to do with that. Why can't you just let me do what I really want to do? I wanted to go to school and be normal like everybody else, but you forced me to stay here, and for what? So I could lead your stupid gang after you're gone. Find someone else to do it," She said. Raven opened the fridge, grabbed two beers, and walked by him.

"You're the one to do it. No one else is meant to do this. Perhaps you don't get that though… Your Mother was always much more understanding of me," He said, causing Raven to whirl around sharply.

"Don't even bring her up. She died because of you and your damn band of criminals. You were supposed to die in that shooting, not her!" Raven shouted. "Why couldn't you have been the one to die…?" She muttered miserably.

She glanced up, expecting to see some sort of emotion on her Father's face, but he looked as stony as ever on the topic. Without saying another word, Raven went up to her room, tears pouring down her face for the first time in what felt like forever. She laid back in bed, finished both her beers quickly, and drifted off to sleep. All the while, there was only one thought on her mind…

Why couldn't her Father just go away?

---

She awoke next morning to the sound of a door banging open. Then she heard voices, loud ones. There was the distinct sound of a chair tipping over, and then a dull smashing noise, like someone had been thrown to the wall.

"This can't be good…" Raven said tiredly. She kicked the beer cans on the floor out of her way, yawned, and then quietly opened her door. Tiptoeing downstairs, she listened in on what was being said.

"Tom Nomed, you are under arrest for the murder of Bradley Liedzeit. You have the…"

Raven drowned out whatever was said next. The murder they were accusing her Father of was the murder of Blood. Bradley Liedzeit was his real name. Had her Father gone out the night before, perhaps after she fell asleep?

They were taking her Father away when he turned the corner. He was busy shouting at the cops.

"You think I killed my own man? I guess that makes you cops dumber than you look. I'll be cleared for sure. This has setup written all over it!" He barked.

"It wouldn't be too shocking if you murdered him," Raven said from behind everyone. It wasn't until then that she noticed there were no less than six men, all armed with weapons. The one holding her Father.

"You're going to need to come with us for questioning, Miss Roth," Said the man nearest her. Raven nodded slowly, looking into her Father's eyes.

"I'd be happy to help…"

---

"So they questioned me, and I told them that my Father got angry at Blood the night that he died, and that I didn't hear him after I went to sleep, which is weird because I can always hear him doing something at night," Raven said.

Richard kept walking, never taking an eye off of her, even as he was fumbling for a cigarette in his pocket. However, Victor's nagging voice crept into his mind, and he decided to let it go.

"When I got on the stand, I talked about how violent he could be towards everyone, and how he said he would kill anybody but me if they made him mad. I think what really convinced everybody was when I said that I didn't hear him downstairs at night. It backed up the theory that he was out of the house when the murder happened. He had no provable alibi. I don't know whether my story helped or not, but either way he got put away," She finished.

Richard had listened to every word of her story, and suddenly remembered Trigon's trial. He hadn't really followed it, but he vaguely recalled Bruce and Slade talking about Trigon's own daughter testifying. They had been talking about Raven… He couldn't believe that he hadn't remembered earlier.

"His people kept bothering me at home. It took me three months to decide that enough was enough. I have a feeling that the only reason I wasn't killed by one of those idiots was because he ordered them not to." Raven stopped and pointed up at the apartment building next to her. "Oh, this is my p-"

"Do you think he really did it though?" He asked, cutting her off abruptly. Raven seemed to think for a moment, her eyes rolling up in a sign of concentration.

"Well, no, I don't. Every time I looked into his eyes, he looked innocent. But I don't care. Like I said before, he got what he deserved," She answered darkly.

Letting out a low whistle, Richard rocked back and forth on his heels, trying to act casual. "That's an interesting story, let me tell you," He said, suddenly deciding that a change of topic would be smart. If you want, we can talk about it more… tomorrow though. I think you need to get some rest. You don't act the part, but you're pretty damn drunk." Richard pulled out a piece of old paper from his pocket and wrote down his cell phone number. "Here, call me sometime," He said, giving his trademark grin as he handed her the crumbled paper. Then he turned to leave.

"Wait," She said behind him. Raven grabbed his hand, turned him around, and before he knew it, they were kissing. She pulled away just a second later. "Why don't you come up for the night?" She asked.

Richard spun around immediately, biting his lip in an effort to hold back a yell. This was his lucky night. "Yeah, alright, let me just…" He trailed off in mid sentence as his conscience kicked in.

"Let you what?" Raven asked curiously. Richard looked her up and down, his body screaming yes to her but his heart screaming no.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe another time, but not tonight," Richard replied. He desperately wanted to stab himself for passing up this opportunity.

"Do you realize that I'm offering you a free fuck? You don't need to call me, don't need to get me dinner, don't need to even acknowledge me again. You're a nice looking guy, and I think you deserve some action for putting up with me all night. So what do you say?"

Once again his body begged him to go for it, but he knew that it wasn't right. She was drunk, and he wasn't one to take advantage of a girl. He had made up his mind.

"Listen, I appreciate the offer, really. But you're like no girl I have ever met before, and I'd rather just take my time. I don't know about you, but I actually like you," Richard said, sounding very unlike himself. "Call me tomorrow, if you want. I'll be waiting," He added. Then he kissed her on the lips briefly, and walked away, leaving Raven in total awe.

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_You know, when I thought that ending out, I saw it going along a lot smoother. Oh well, forgive me. For characters there, I'd like to make sure that everyone knows that Komand'r was Blackfire, and that Blood/Bradley Liedzeit was Brother Blood. Norand'r was a fictional Tamaranian. Just want to make all that clear. Carrying on, this chapter did come out long, by more than 1500 words, and it would have been longer, but I cut two scenes from Kori's flashback, and then one more scene from Raven's. Anyway, enough with chapters that have hardly anything going on. From here on out, it's all action and suspense and… other stuff like that. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Once again, expect an update in two weeks or so. Sorry this one was a little bit late. I've got spring break coming up, and instead of going somewhere, I'll be home writing, so there should be no issue with an update. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Looking forward to your reviews._

_Next chapter: A dream sequence reveals what caused the disturbance in the back of the bar. Shortly after, a series of attacks are made on the members of the Wayne gang. Who is committing these acts of violence?_

_"You sure, you sure did let her have it…"_

_-SinFire_


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